Probability Questions for 6th Grade Math Students

Probability is the study of how likely something is to happen. Students study probability in 6th grade and continue learning about probability in later grades. Standardized math tests can include probability questions, so extra practice can be beneficial for your child. Use the sample questions below as a guide to create your own practice.

How to Create 6th Grade Probability Questions

Probability and statistics are often studied together. Statistics analyzes how frequently something happened in the past, while probability predicts the likelihood of future events. In 6th grade, students study how data is collected for statistical problems. They also learn how to graph the data collected. Based on the statistical data, 6th graders begin to make probability predictions.

Because of the nature of probability, many questions involving probability are word problems. If your child is having difficulty finding the answers to these questions, remind her to pick out the important information from the question and ignore the unimportant information. For instance, the first sentence in many word problems is not pertinent to the problem itself. Instead, she should pay attention to the numbers and how they relate to one another. Using this information, your child can then create a proportion to find the probability.

Probability Problems by Subject

Preference

In your class, 30 students were asked if they prefer action movies or drama movies. There were 21 students who preferred action, while the remaining 9 students liked dramas. There are 650 students in the whole school. How many would you expect to prefer action movies?

To solve this problem, your child should make a proportion. In the initial survey, 21 out of 30 students preferred action. So the proportional equation should look like this: 21/30 = x/650. After solving this equation, your child should find that 455 students are expected to prefer action movies.

Luck

Relating the concept of probability to luck can help your child become interested in the subject matter. Try making it a game by using a deck of cards or flipping a coin. Practice doesn't always have to involve a worksheet. Ask your child, 'If you were to draw one card at random, what is the likelihood that you will draw a red card?'

To solve this problem, first determine how many red cards are in a deck. Half of the cards are red, so 26 of the 52-card deck are red. As a result, the probability is 26/52, which is reduced to 1/2. There is a 50% chance that a red card will be drawn.

Real World

Increase your student's interest in probability by applying it to the real world. For ten days, watch the weather forecast with your child and keep track of its accuracy. To calculate the probability, divide the number of correct weather reports by ten. For instance, if the forecasts were accurate 4 out of the 10 days, then there is a 40% probability that the weather reports will be accurate on any given day.

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